Former Foot Locker Executive Charged with Insider Trading

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Barry Siegel, a former senior director at Foot Locker, with insider trading related to two earnings announcements in 2023. Siegel allegedly shorted Foot Locker stock based on material nonpublic information regarding the company's sales and inventory, profiting approximately $113,000 from his trades. He shorted 8,000 shares before the May earnings report, which resulted in a 27% drop, and again shorted 3,000 shares before the August report, which saw a 28% decline. Siegel agreed to pay a total of $235,714 to settle the charges, which includes disgorged profits and fines. He was terminated from Foot Locker amid layoffs just days before his second trade, and while he did not admit wrongdoing, he is now banned from serving as a public officer of any company. Foot Locker itself was not accused of any wrongdoing in this case.